by Ilya Pozin

Bernie Sanders is a phenomenon. He’s the most exciting new thing to hit the political landscape in years yet he’s been here the whole time. He’s given rise to terms like “Democratic Socialism”, “Feel The Bern”, “Bern Baby Bern” and the ever-popular “Hair You Can Believe In” (I made that last one up.) He’s accumulated millions of followers and raised huge sums of money from countless small, individual donations. It’s the same type of popular movement that swept Obama into office but on an even larger scale. How is he doing it?

Win Over Millennials
Millennials are now the largest demographic in America. With over 90 million members they outnumber the previous record holders, the Baby Boomers, by a significant margin making them the largest generation in American history. The election of 2008 showed the clout of millennial voters when Barack Obama won the Presidency and in the eight years since his election another 40% of the millennial generation has reached voting age. The last of the millennials will turn 18 within the next few years making them the most politically powerful generation in America. Bernie Sanders’ message of economic equality, rebuilding the middle class, free public education and healthcare for everyone is especially attractive to millennial voters who face unprecedented levels of personal debt as a result of skyrocketing education costs and grim employment prospects. With the majority of the power and wealth in America now concentrated among the top 1%, millennial voters feel like the promise of America expired with their parents generation and they are desperate for a candidate that will help them get it back.

Take Advantage Of Social Media
Television and radio advertising costs a fortune. Running attack ads in every battleground state eats up a significant part of a Presidential Candidate’s budget. YouTube, however, is absolutely free! As are Facebook FB +0.20%, Twitter TWTR -4.38%, Snapchat, Instagram and every other popular form of social media used today. Bernie Sanders has mastered the art of social media promotion. His videos on YouTube go viral, his posts on Facebook and Twitter are shared hundreds of thousands of times spreading his message across the internet without having to spend a dime to promote. He is so popular on the internet that Bernie Sanders themed channels and videos have become an entire genre on YouTube and Vimeo. Much as Obama did in 2008, Sanders has harnessed the power of the internet and free social media to increase his influence and visibility even though he is being outspent in nearly every traditional form of advertising media.

Build A Grassroots Movement
Money will go a long way in politics, a long way! However people will go farther. Donald Trump took the lead early in the Republican race by spending his own money and using his fame and namesake to promote himself. His message appeals to a segment of the Republican base who are excited enough to vote in the primaries and win him delegates. This is a good strategy if you’re rich and famous, but it will only get you so far. As Republican contenders drop out of the race, most voters whose favorite candidate has now dropped out are either staying home or choosing someone else besides Donald Trump. This explains Ted Cruz moving into a statistical tie with Trump and John Kasich going from 2% of the vote to 22% within one month. Trump’s problem is that he doesn’t have a grassroots movement supporting him, so his message isn’t spreading past his enthusiastic base and newly available voters are aligning with other candidates. Bernie Sanders has a vast, motivated organization of volunteers who are on the ground in every state going door-to-door generating excitement and voters. Unlike Trump’s campaign which has had maximum exposure from the beginning and whose influence is now waning, Sanders’ campaign started as a small, long shot candidacy and has grown continuously to become a political movement thanks to his army of volunteers pounding the pavement on his behalf, constantly growing their numbers.

Stay On Message
One of the most important factors that Bernie Sanders has working on his behalf is his disapproval rating, or rather lack thereof. Politicians love to tout polls that claim how many people from a party or the nation as a whole support them as the candidate for President. What they are much less likely to brag about is their disapproval ratings, or what percentage of the American population does not like them. Donald Trump, for instance, is still the narrow front runner for the Republican nomination making it seem like he is a viable candidate for President, but his approval ratings have hit a ceiling of about 35%, same as the ceiling of support among primary voters. Trump’s disapproval rating, however, is 54- 63% depending on which poll you choose, which makes it basically impossible for him to win a general election. People, for the most part, do not like Donald Trump. On the Democratic side of the race Hillary Clinton also suffers from a dangerously high disapproval rating, around 51%. Much like with Trump, people who do not like Hillary feel very strongly about their disdain for her. Sanders on the other hand has relatively low unfavorable ratings, mid 30s on average and in most polls he has a net positive rating, meaning more people like him than dislike him. This gives Sanders a huge advantage in seeking the nomination from the Democratic Party. In virtually every poll, Sanders beats the Republican nominee handily and primary voters will take this into consideration when casting their ballots. Should neither Democratic candidate for the nomination receive the necessary number of delegates before their nominating convention, Sanders’ remarkably low disapproval rating could easily be the deciding factor in his winning the nomination.by Ilya Pozin

Staying positive and staying on message may be Sanders’ greatest strength. He has shown amazing resolve when it come to sticking to the issues and not slinging mud. Negative campaigning may be effective in discrediting your opponents, but it won’t endear you to the nation.

#HairYouCanBelieveIn :D

credit to lionmom for pointing it out (Reddit). Sry if this also doesnt fit the guidelines.